The Program [COMPLETED]

Chapter Sixteen

"Be quiet, or I'll make you be quiet!" a male voice growled menacingly from outside Aiden's bunk. A muffled sound of protest came afterwards, followed by a series of rough shuffling noises.

Aiden was sitting up in his bed, his mind groggy and his body tense. What the hell was going on? He threw his covers to the side, creeping along the icy floor to the large metal door. He pressed his ear against the side of it, doing his best to determine what exactly was happening just beyond the walls of his room.

"Gag her. She's going to wake up the whole fucking Unit!" a female voice hissed. 

"Bloody Transfers. This is what you get when you for sticking your nose in other people's business," the male added. The third voice made a gagging sound before growing faint. Aiden's eyes widened in realization, his blood turning to ice. It was Eden and Maddox. 

And they had Zariah with them.

"Take her outside," Eden said. Her voice was as shrill as ever, masked only by the metal door. Eden's voice and the sound of a struggling Zariah were becoming quieter and quieter with every growing second. Aiden crawled away from the door. He got to his feet, making a dash for his dresser, and pulled on whatever clothes he could grab first in the pitch dark. He spotted two military knives on his nightstand, and tucked them into the palm of his hand for safekeeping. Once he was dressed, he slipped on his worn combat boots and slid the metal door open once the coast was clear.

Aiden considered going to Virgil's bunk for backup, but decided against it. By the looks of it, Zariah didn't have much time, and Aiden didn't have any to waste. He tread lightly down the hallway, keeping his steps swift and silent. Rania definitely hadn't been lying when she mentioned that Eden had it out for Zariah. She was practically borderline psychotic for pulling something like this. Aiden gripped the knives tightly in his hand, deciding on tucking them away into his shoe in case he needed to use either of them. His drowsiness was fading, instead being replaced by his sharp military instincts. If he was caught being out after hours, he'd be severely punished. Unless a soldier was assigned to a graveyard patrol, all recruits were instructed to be inside their bunks and accounted for.

He turned left once he reached the end of the hallway. He devised the layout of headquarters in his brain. Eden and Maddox were headed outside with Zariah; meaning that they likely would be taking the shortest route possible to get there in order to avoid detection. They had at least a two or three minute lead on Aiden, which meant he had to maintain a consistent speed so he wouldn't catch up to them too quickly, or fall too far behind. He was in no position to attack now. He had to be sure that Zariah was safe first, before plotting any kind of rescue attempt. Aiden was brave, but he wasn't stupid. Then again, sometimes it was difficult to tell the difference between the two; especially in his case.

Headquarters took on an eerie appearance this late into the night. Aiden had briefly glanced at his clock before going on his mission to rescue Zariah. If he'd read it correctly, the time was oh-two-hundred hours and seven minutes. He reckoned that he'd been following Eden and Maddox for approximately ten or fifteen minutes. Zariah's bunk was almost a floor above his, and assuming she'd put up a fight, Eden and Maddox must have made their move just before oh-one-hundred hours and forty-five minutes. Aiden was careful to avoid the motion sensing lights that dotted the hallways of Second Unit, prepared to flick on with even the slightest movement that passed by. The light from the moon cast looming shadows into the hallways as Aiden crept along, making the Unit seem hollow and empty. It was a much different place at night; less populated, less noisy, and definitely more frightening.

Aiden paused and pressed himself flat against a corner after hearing a trace of Eden's voice.

"...edge of the Unit. There's a cliff side. We'll dispose of her there. There's water at the bottom; no one will ever find a body. Nor will anyone recognize one once we're done with her."